A festival organised by Churches Together in Northallerton Area has raised enough money to build three irrigation wells in one of the world's poorest countries.

The festival, entitled Water is Life, took place last July. It was focused on a display outside Northallerton Town Hall featuring colourful banners made by ten local primary schools. The children illustrated bible stories that have a watery theme.

Several other events took place, including flower displays in local churches and the dressing of wells in the Golden Lion Hotel and the Lewis & Cooper store.

Money raised during the festival amounted to £2,631. These funds have been directed to the building of three irrigation wells in the Dogon plateau region of Mali, a country in West Africa. Most people in Mali depend on the land for a living, but severe droughts have left previously fertile land useless and dramatically reduced farmers' ability to grow and sell their crops. The wells will allow a greater variety of crops to be grown on the land and more animals to be kept.

Chair of Northallerton Churches Together, the Rev'd Andrew Bryer, said: "We are delighted that Northallerton really made this festival its own."